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Affection/One
ONE ~ ASHPAW when I first knew you it was different to now there would've been few who predicted, somehow Sunlight filtered into the den entrance, warm and bringing light. Birds chirped overheard, singing their choruses that only they could understand. Outside, there were mews from the cats of BurnClan, whom were getting organized for the day, under the watchful gaze of the cats who led them. While all of this was happening, I was trying to get some last-minute sleep inside the apprentices' den, but it was hard, with the light and the noise. My ears flattened as I tried to block it out, but to no avail. Then, finally, it was stopped. "Ashpaw, Ashpaw!" An excited voice of a she-cat broke through the barrier of my attempted silence. Her paws skittered on the ground noisily, before I felt her nose touch my shoulder with a bump. My eyes shot open, and I turned to see the gray-faced she-cat staring back at me, her amber eyes alight. "Leopardbreeze wants you for training," Emberpaw announced, her tail flicking. "She doesn't want to muck about." As she announced this, I saw her bounce on her paws. Emberpaw had always been more of an eager cat than me. My sister, my lively sister, was always up for training. Meanwhile... I preferred to take it easy. There was still a long time - two moons, in fact - before we were due to become warriors, and knowing Shadestar, he wouldn't bring it forward. I moaned. I wasn't in the mood for training, no matter what Leopardbreeze said... but I would be forced. "...Go away, Emberpaw, I'm coming," I grunted softly to my sister, as I stretched one back leg, then the other, as I spoke. Emberpaw said nothing in reply, just stared at me for a few moments, before she went away. Her paws moved on the den floor as she retreated back to the entrance, making more noise than they did before when she came in. I sighed after she had gone, making it long and soft. Gradually, I got to my paws, and quickly washed my dark pelt. It was dark gray, with a few black speckles on my face around my eyes - which my father, Smokespirit, says gave me my name. I also had a darker, almost black undercoat of fur. Once I made all of it lie flat, I padded out, into the brightness of the camp. And this camp had never ceased to amaze me. So much light streamed into the BurnClan camp, probably due to the light forest cover around the clearing. Bordered by birch trees which seemed to shelter the forest rather than the clearing itself - and by low-lying shrubs - it looked beautiful. The entrance, guarded by knotted brambles and thorns, was also a nice gateway, shaped in a sort of arch. I really liked my camp and my Clan. It was beautiful. "There you are, Ashpaw." A smooth voice purred into my ears. I turned. A pale she-cat, fur dappled with darker spots here and there, had approached me, her muzzle near my ear. "Ready to go training?" she asked. "We'd better hurry: the rest of the group we're training with has already set out, and they won't wait long for us." I nodded mutely at Leopardbreeze's words, as she turned to the camp entrance. Under her authority, I followed her, not daring to disobey. Leopardbreeze was a strict mentor, and although kind, she was not one to cross. The one thing that struck me about my home was, despite the fact that it was a forest, it was quite sparse. Sun shined through often, except when you were directly under a tree. So, on that particular late newleaf day, I felt warmed. And calmed, for a while. But that was broken when I got to the clearing. The rest of the cats were there - three mentors, three apprentices. Emberpaw was there, with her mentor Redsky: as well as the older apprentice Finchpaw, and his mentor, who were most likely preparing for his final assessment. But the sight of the third apprentice put me off the most. Ugh, great. Arrogant, popular Cheetahpaw, snobby Cheetahpaw... this is going to be a very fun training session, I thought sarcastically as I laid my gaze on the dark-pointed she-cat. Cheetahpaw, of course. She was born just days before me, yet held all the attention. She was the life and soul of the Clan, and I hated it - and her. I was ordinary. She was more than that. I wasn't the cat to be, well, completely social with everyone - but I wanted more than what I had currently. That was the one thing I desired. I wanted to be happy - if only I could have a few more friends. Cheetahpaw had the same look on her face as I saw her. I knew that she felt the same way about me - and both of us knew it. The whole Clan knew it, even. We'd bickered so many times in camp for the Clan to know that. While Finchpaw and his mentor had wandered off, Redsky had taken over the training session. The red tabby she-cat swept her dark gaze over the three of us - Emberpaw, Cheetahpaw, and I - with a narrowed stare. "We're going to be working on our hunting in pairs today," Redsky mewed briskly. "Teamwork is a very important part of being in a Clan." As she said this, she shot a withering glare at Cheetahpaw, and then at me. I backed off a little bit at the sight, feeling slightly intimidated. Meanwhile, Cheetahpaw - who was sitting as far away from me as she could - had done nothing but return the stare back. "Emberpaw, you will be working with Snowfall," Redsky continued. Snowfall, Cheetahpaw's mentor, shuffled one of his paws at the announcement of his name. She then paused, and I saw her take a deep breath, before announcing: "Ashpaw, you and Cheetahpaw will be working together." I suppressed an inward groan. That... just made things much better. Thanks a lot, Redsky, I really appreciate it. I shot a look at Cheetahpaw, who was staring defiantly at Redsky, challenging her as to why she was doing this. Redsky, catching Cheetahpaw's glare, mewed: "You need to learn to get along with cats you don't like. This is good practise." Cheetahpaw continued to stare at Redsky for another moment, before turning to me, very slowly. Her sky-blue eyes were still narrowed as she flicked her dark golden tail at me, angrily. I said nothing as I approached. She said nothing back. We were in dead silence as we left the clearing, not saying one word to the other. I was angry at all the mentors, but most of all - for some reason - angry at Cheetahpaw, even though this wasn't even her fault. Why did life sometimes have to give you the things that you disliked? I sighed, continuing to trail behind. That's life, I heard a voice whisper in my ear, in answer to the question that I had just asked myself in silence. sometimes you must love sometimes you must hate but sometimes you must look above and look beyond at fate